President Barack Obama stopped short of saying President Vladimir Putin himself orchestrated the Russian hacking of U.S. political sites during the election. But he is confirming that it was done at the highest levels of the Kremlin.

At his year-end White House news conference, Obama said not much happens in Russia without a nod from Putin. He said he will let the public decide whether there were rogue high-level Russian officials acting without Putin's knowledge.

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Obama also said he wants to give the intelligence community a chance to issue a report on the hacking before the end of his administration. But he cautioned that some information will be classified because disclosing it would divulge the way in which the U.S. has been able to collect the intelligence.

Obama defended how he's handled the hacking of political sites that took place before the November election. He said his goal is to send a clear message to Russia that such intrusions won't be tolerated.

Obama said with the "hyperpartisan atmosphere" of the election, his main concern was the integrity of the election process. He wanted to make sure the U.S. public understood that the White House was trying to "play this thing straight."

He said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, and told him — in these words — to "cut it out."

The White House hasn't commented about what a U.S. response might entail. Options could include a retaliatory cyberstrike on Russian networks or sanctions targeting Putin's associates.

Though the hacks appeared to benefit his successor, the president said he's offered Trump some "pretty specific suggestions" about safeguarding the integrity of the office and other institutions. Obama said Trump "has listened" to him, but he can't say with certainty whether Trump will follow his advice.

The president and Trump have spoken by telephone several times since they met in the Oval Office two days after election, and it's usually Trump who reveals that they've talked. Obama says their telephone conversations are "cordial" and not "defensive in any way," given their deep disagreements on the issues.

Obama boasted about his administration's achievement's over eight years during the year-end conference, citing a number of positive economic indicators such as a declining unemployment rate and higher rates of insured people under his health overhaul. And he's highlighting diplomatic achievements — among them, the reopening of relations with Cuba.

Obama said he's leaving the country "stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started." But reminded the public that there's more to be done on the country's biggest problems. As an ex-president, Obama said he's going to continue working to push the agenda of his administration.

He focused heavily on Aleppo, as well, saying Syria, Russia and Iran have blood on their hands and the world is "united in horror" at the assault on rebel-held areas of the Syrian city. He accused the Syrian government and its two powerful allies of deliberately "surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," and targeting aid workers and medical personnel. He says entire neighborhoods have been reduced to "rubble and dust."

Obama acknowledged that Syria's almost 6-year civil war has been among the hardest issues he's faced. Still, he said the U.S. would've had to be "all in and willing to take over Syria" for him to intervene more forcefully in the country's civil war.

He said doing so wasn't feasible for many reasons. It would've required many U.S. troops; he lacked support from Congress and the right under international law; the U.S. already had costly deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan; Syria's opposition wasn't prepared to govern; and Russia and Iran were protecting Syria's government.

Obama said military options short of invasion were tempting because "we wanted to do something." But it was "impossible to do this on the cheap."

The president briefly paused his conference after an unidentified woman began to feel ill and medical help arrived.

Obama sought help getting his doctor to come to the briefing room. At another point, he started telling people what doors to go through to get to the doctor's office.

Journalists and photographers — many of them dressed for the frigid weather — packed the rather small briefing room for Obama's final news conference of the year, rendering it stuffy and uncomfortable.

Reporters without assigned seats stood in the aisles, which is where the woman was when she began to feel ill.